The Susquehanna Twp. graduate, who left Hofstra as the school's all-time leader in receiving yardage, may be moving closer to hearing his name called on the first day of the NFL draft, held April 29-30.

Colston, a late-round pick at best after catching 70 passes for 975 yards and five touchdowns for Hofstra last fall, ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine. Combine that speed with a 37-inch vertical jump, a 10-3 broad jump and a long shuttle time of 11.27 seconds, and Colston's secret is out.

He isn't considered a late-round pick anymore.

"I think I surprised a lot of NFL people with my time in the 40," said Colston, back in Harrisburg after spending last Thursday through Sunday in Indianapolis.

"I really don't think I was expected to run that fast, not at my size. I think most people were probably thinking I'd run around 4.6.

"But I just look at it as an extension of what I was doing at Hofstra. I tried to play the way I did there. There are a lot of good players on that [I-AA] level."

Players like former Cumberland Valley standout Charlie Adams, another Hofstra alum, who is a Denver Broncos wideout.

Colston's agent, midstate-based Mark Clouser, believes his client is a mid-round pick who can improve his stock with another solid workout March 24, Pro Day at Hofstra.

"Marques was the biggest receiver out there [in Indianapolis]," Clouser said.

"And I think the league is really aware of him now. They know he had a lot of catches at Hofstra and then they wanted to see him play with the big boys in the East-West game. Well, Marques showed he can do that.

"Then, I think the league wanted to get an up-close look at Marques at the combine, to see if he was fast enough. And he ran a 4.4."

At the East-West game in San Antonio, Colston, representing the East, caught five passes for 82 yards. The West won the game, but not before Colston nearly scored on a desperation pass on the game's second-to-last play. Colston caught the ball at the 1 and was stopped.

Clouser said four teams -- Seattle, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh -- have showed the most interest and Colston said he was grilled by just about every team's receivers coach and medical staff.

Of particular concern was a shoulder injury that forced Colston to take a redshirt in 2004. Colston said the injury, a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is 100 percent healed.

"We think this is a bit of a down year for receivers both in the draft and in free agency, and that should only help Marques," Clouser said.

And there's no denying the foot speed. The list of 6-5, 225-pounders who can cover 40 yards in 4.43 seconds is a short one.

"I know I still have a lot of work to do but I know I can play," Colston said.

"I think I did what I had to do at the combine, and I really didn't think there was any adjustment or anything that I had to make to get ready for it. I trained hard for the East-West game and for the combine and I just looked at it as an opportunity to show a larger audience what I was capable of doing."

That's what I'm thinking. I'm liking the height. While I have Fred Gibson in the back of my mind, the risk is minimized in a year when you have 5 picks between the 4th and 5 rounds. Plus one of the many knocks on Gibson was his intelligence, this kid seems pretty smart.